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Success Stories Renew America Success Stories  "Get in the Loop, Buy Recycled" -- King County Commission for Marketing Recyclable Materials Contact: Melissa Wangen King County Commission for Marketing Recylable Materials 400 Yesler Way, Room 200 Seattle, WA 98104 tel: (206) 296-0234 fax: (206) 296-4366 email: melissa.wangen@metrokc.gov http://www.metrokc.gov/market/
Description Get in the Loop, Buy Recycled is a program sponsored by the King County Commission for Marketing Recyclable Materials designed to increase the market for recycled products. During the annual month-long program, participating retailers agree to promote the "Buy Recycled" message to the public through special end-of-aisle displays, window displays, distribution of educational materials, advertising, and special discounting of recycled products. Like many local governments, King County, Washington has been a vigorous promoter of recycling; curbside collection programs exist throughout western Washington. The Get in the Loop program was created as a way to generate a market for the goods manufactured from recycled materials. Prior to the Get in the Loop program, local retailers were not having a great deal of success selling their recycled goods. In other words, the message to "Recycle" was getting through, the message to "Buy Recycled" was not. Get in the Loop has helped change all that. "Our research shows that nearly a third of consumers would buy recycled products if they could simply find them. 'Get in the Loop' taught us the sales implications of clearly identifying which products had recycled content," said Dave Herrick, Program Manager for Get in the Loop. In addiation, the program segmented the market of probable consumers of recycled goods and specifically targeted those consumers, helping to dramatically increase sales of recycled goods. During the four-week campaign, sales of recycled goods sold at drug stores, nurseries and book stores increased by 40%, 70% and 140%, respectively. Program Highlights Get in the Loop Logo The Commission developed a readily recognizable logo to anchor the marketing campaign. Local retailers wishing to be mentioned in the program's radio ads were required to include the logo in at least one of their print advertisements. Market Research: The Commission's market research found that most consumers were more likely to buy a product based on quality, past experience and price than for any "earth-friendly" factor, including the product's environmental impact, or whether it was recycled or recyclable. However, more highly educated individuals were more likely to purchase recycled products, and women were more likely than men to purchase recycled products. As a result, the program made a special effort to target college-educated women between the ages of 25 and 50. In addition, the program was designed to highlight the quality of recycled items already on the market, taking advantage of the general consumer's preference for high quality items.  The Key to Success: The Shelf Talker
A shelf talker is a marker placed on the edge of the retail shelf, just below the product. During the campaign, these shelf talkers containing the Get in the Loop logo were used to identify all recycled products in a participating retail store. The shelf talker served as an effective tool to call attention to the special attribute -- in this case, recycled content -- of the product. Additional Details: The program began on a Wednesday, a major advertising day for grocers. The campaign began in mid-October, so it would not compete with back-to-school or holiday promotions. Retailers were recruited to participate in the program through direct mail solicitation (for smaller retailers) and personal visits (for larger retailers). Radio ads were scheduled for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday afternoon "drive times" to reach the intended audience just prior to probable shopping trips.
Vital Statistics  Program Management/Partnerships: The King County Commission for Marketing Recyclable Materials manages the program and has licensed the Get in the Loop, buy Recycled logo or given program advice to the State of Iowa; the City of Falls Church, Virginia; Kitsap County, Washington; Palm Beach County, Florida; the Greater Vancouver Regional District, Canada; and the Auckland Regional Council, New Zealand.
Budget: Community Served: More than one million county residents received the message of 863 participating retailers. A special effort was made to reach out to Hispanic, Asian and African-American communities through ads placed in ethnic newspapers. Measures of Success: Sales of recycled products increased 27% during the four-week period just prior to the campaign. Sales of recycled products increased 39% during the four-week campaign. Sales of recycled products increased 54% in western Washington grocery stores. More than 860 retailers and four manufacturers participated in the 1994 campaign, reaching more than one million customers with the "buy recycled" message. Re-refined motor oil (refined from used oil collected at local service stations), is now on the shelves of several area retailers. More than 30 news stories on radio, television and in newspapers covered the campaign.
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